City manager administers government
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Mayor l.es Anderson and City Manager Hugh McKinley
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1417 Villard (Just off Franklin Blvd.)
Alto: 55 River Ave., Eugene.
Mohawk Blvd., Springfield.
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“The mayor and the council are elected officials,” stated Eugene
community relations officer Barbara Shellenbarger. “They are the
policy making body,” she said. “They appoint the city manager, they
hire him to administer the city staff,” she said.
Eugene’s city manager is Hugh McKinley. He is appointed by the
city council to serve an .indefinite term and has been with the city for
over 11 years.
“I’m the chief administrative officer for the city which means that I
have the administrative responsibility for all the operating depart
ments and the staff departments,” McKinley said.
“1 take my direction as to what is to be accomplished from the city
council. “Then I’m responsible for carrying out their directions and
seeing that the cities employment group, its administrative structure,
provides the services which the council has decided are to be provided
through its decisions and through its budget processes,” he said.
“I advise the City Council concerning the problems of the city and
attempt to give them direction as to the alternatives they can con
sider. Then once they’ve made decisions it’s my responsibility to carry
them out,” said McKinley.
“All of the city department heads report to this office, with ex
ception of the library which is responsible to a seperate appointed
board and the municipal judge who is responsible directly to the City
Council,” McKinley said. There are a total of 13 city departments
which McKinley’s office oversees. These are: the finance department,
court, legal department, police department, fire department, library,
public works, traffic engineer division, planning department, parks
and recreation department, data processing, airport department, and
the city personnel department. “The various department heads serve
as my staff, to advise me,” he said.
There are over 700 people employed by the city who work under the
direction of McKinley who then reports to the City Council. “It’s
similar to a president of a corporation with the council being similar to
the board of directors of a corporation,” he said.
“He is the link and the only link between the city council and the
various departments in the city,” stated Eugene mayor Les Anderson.
“Everything funnels through the city manager.”
“Problems usually come to me as a result of citizen’s complaints or
individual citizens who either have a problem, they want something
done about or a complaint or through a department head who has
difficulties in his concern. We would develop what we think is an
appropriate solution to the problem and if it takes council con
sideration I will take it to the council and they will make a decision,”
he stated.
Occasionally members ot tne council will initiate a new policy or
procedure and usually what happens there is the councilman will
either bring it directly to me or he’ll bring it up at a council meeting.
Then, we’ll do a staff study of it, report back to the council as to what
our recommendations would be and the council gives it con
sideration,” McKinley said.
“Generally any new problems or policy changes would funnel
through this office at one time or another before the decisions are
made, so that we can poll together the staff thinking on it and make a
recommendation or give the council the choices that can be con
sidered.” McKinley said.
“On any problem of major significance it’s not likely that a decision
would be made by this office without involving all of the people who
have some knowledge of the problem and have some input into the
decision. Mr Martin, my assistant, and I are not technically expert in
any one field so we have to rely on competent department heads to
guide us,” McKinley said.
“We get involved in working with individual citizens as well as other
governmental agencies and private groups on various departmental
problems,” McKinley said. “We also get involved with problems of the
city as a whole. A good deal of my time is spent working with the
county administration, the Lane Council of Governments, the Plan
ning Commission and other groups,” he said.
There are City Council meetings every week, (these are study
sessions), and regular city council meetings twice a month. “I make
up the agendas for all of the meetings of the City Council,” McKinley
said "There will be a whole list of items on each agenda and I have to
report to the City Council, on each of those items,” he said “If
councilmen want to add anything to the agenda or if individual citizens
want an opportunity to appear before the council they make
arrangements through my office.”
We have certain seasonal functions that have to be done, such as in
the fall cleaning up the leaves and cleaning catch basins,” McKinley
said. The summertime is the time when park and recreation ac
tivities pick up and become more active, particularly the outside kinds
of activities. It’s also the time when we are able to get much of our
construction done," he said. “We try to do the street paving and the
concrete work and that kind of thing in the summertime,” McKinley
said. Public works activites pick up in the summertime.”
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